Boston
by Sehrezad
Summary: What if Emma and August had another 28 years together? What if they shared a life together and started a family? What if somehow it all became erased and they were forced to live their lives again with the result we can see on the show? This is a prequel to my story, "Neverland" and hopefully it'll explain how they come to forget about this life. WoodenSwan
1. The Beginning of the End

**Boston**

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything._

_Summary: Emma and August had lived a life together where August hadn't left Emma and they started a family. They had Henry, well, Emma had Henry but August was raising him like his own and they had two more children. But then somehow it all became erased and they were forced to live their lives again with the result we can see on the show. This is a companion piece, or rather a prequel to my other story, "Neverland", and it shows how Emma and August come to forget about this life._

_And yes, Billy is Henry but I figured if Emma had got to keep him, the boy wouldn't be called Henry as he clearly got his name after Regina's father. So, I call him Billy here._

_Enjoy!_

Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End

August pushed the locker door closed and with a satisfied grin he listened to the metallic sound as it snapped closed.

"See ya, guys," he called to his colleagues and started for the door.

"Hey, August," one of them – a large older man with a funny mustache – called after him. "We're going out for a drink, wanna come?"

"Nah, man," he gave the man a small smile. "I've got plans."

"Yeah, for sure," another man, roughly the same age as August, scoffed. "Bet the missus ordered you to be at home in time to take the kids to school," he chuckled. "Man, what are you doing playing house? You should be out chasing skirts."

"Well, at least I've got a 'missus' who's waiting for me. Don't think Mary Lou has her panties in a knot to see you again, Freddie," he winked at the man. "Bet she's just too happy screwing a new client at the moment." At that a roar of laughter erupted among the occupants of the locker room and the man, who spoke up earlier, clapped Freddie on the shoulders.

"Have fun," he called to his colleagues then turned to leave.

Following a long line of night-shift workers, August finally got on a bus that took him into the City where he would take another one that would drop him off in a walking distance from his apartment.

Usually there wasn't much talk on the bus – night-shift drained everyone out – and in the early morning dusk he quickly found himself drifting off as it occurred to him that maybe he would only make this journey one more time and then he was done with being a security guard.

Yes, his life was turning around – his family's life was turning around.

* * *

He expected the apartment to be empty with the kids in school or daycare and Emma working, but then he remembered that Emma had taken the day off because Benji seemed to have a stomach-bug and he was up all night wailing. That was why he hated working two jobs – most of the time he only heard about the events in his kids life through the phone and he felt useless when Emma needed help with them, like now with his baby boy sick.

August found his wife hunched over a stack of paper with a pencil in hand, deep in concentration. He only started to move towards her when she finally threw the pencil on the table and straightened. She turned to him then, and the smile that was playing on her lips took his breath away.

"Hey there," he leant down to kiss her. "What's that smile for?"

"Hey," she hummed as their lips lingered. "I've just finished arranging the bills."

"That never made you smile before."

"Well, we didn't manage to pay all the bills in time before," she informed him grinning and his lips turned into a smile, too.

"And we did now?" he arched an eyebrow.

She nodded.

"Well, that certainly calls for celebration," August said as he went to the kitchen.

"How is Benji?" he asked from the other room.

"Fine, thank God," Emma answered putting away the papers. "He ate like a wolf in the morning and I finally managed to get him to sleep after that. I don't know what it was that made him so fussy but it's gone. Thanks," she said when August returned from the kitchen with two glasses of whiskey he had got from his boss at the bookstore for last Christmas and offered one of them to her.

"That's good to hear," he said relieved. "Cheers," he raised his glass and they clinked them then downed the liquid. The bitter liquid made August's empty stomach churn but he didn't care.

"I'll go and take a look at him," he said after putting down his glass then turned to go to the kids' room to see with his own eyes that the boy was indeed okay. The only problem was that Benji wasn't in his bed. Emma followed her husband and when she noticed the puzzled look on his face, she gently guided him to the next room, their room.

"I see the little guy likes space," he observed chuckling when he noticed that the toddler was snuggling comfortably in the middle of their bed surrounded by pillows.

"Don't even start," Emma rolled her eyes. "It took me hours to get him to sleep. So if he wants the bed, he'll get it."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here to help," August looked at her guiltily.

"Don't start it again," Emma warned him. "I'm too tired for this crap."

"I love you," August told her, pulling her close and pressing a kiss into her hair.

"And I love you," Emma replied, melting into him. "And I love that you're a great dad," she shared and smiled when August, as an answered, pulled her a little closer. "All right," she pulled away after a little while. "You go and get a shower and I'll make you some breakfast." At that August nodded kissing her once again before she left for the kitchen.

By the time Emma came to look for him, he was sprawled on the bed in his briefs, lying on his stomach with one hand on his son's belly and snoring silently.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon by the time he emerged from the bedroom.

"Hey there, Sleeping Beauty," Emma greeted him cheerfully as August stretched in the doorway.

"Sorry for falling asleep on you," he said after a healthy yawn.

"No need to apologize. You worked almost twenty hours in a row. You used the hours of peace and calm wisely," sitting on the floor with crossed legs with Benji sleeping next to her on his playing-mat, she smiled up at him from above the pile of cloths she was folding.

"Speaking of which… It's awfully quiet in here," August observed, his eyes resting on the sleeping form of his son, who, he assumed, having been fed, had fallen asleep again. "Where are the kids?"

"It's Thursday. Billy is in book club and Franny is at violin practice," Emma explained gathering some folded cloths into her arms and standing up.

"So we've got the apartment to ourselves?" he asked with wiggling eyebrows, conveniently forgetting about his sleeping son, who was a good sleeper anyway. As far as Benji was concerned, World War Three could break out.

August enjoyed the sound of Emma's laughter that followed his question.

"You just wish," she rolled her eyes, pressing past him into their room and putting the clothes down on her dresser. "I've got about…" she looked at the clock behind her on the nightstand and her eyes widened. "Oh my God," she exclaimed. "I had to get going ten minutes ago."

"Let's go then," August offered. "We can grab some dinner, too… to celebrate."

"You do realize that paying the bills on time doesn't mean that we've got money."

"Come on, we won't go bankrupt because of dinner. And anyway, tomorrow's your birthday," he added in a low voice as he sneaked his arms around her waist from behind, as Emma had pressed past him once again, and, stopping her, he pressed his mouth close to her ear. "Let me treat you to dinner and don't worry about the money."

Emma turned in his embrace and looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "There's something you're not telling me."

"Well…" August gave her an enigmatic smile. "Claire may have called," he trailed off as apprehension set on Emma's features at the mention of his publisher. "We've got the first installment of the money," he beamed at her and caught her when she practically jumped into his neck.

"How much?" Emma asked when she stopped squeezing the life out of him.

"We can talk about that later," August told her then pecked her lips. "But we can start looking for a house."

"And you can give up your security guard job," Emma added hopefully.

"I kind of like it," August shrugged with a playful smile. "I like the peace and the quiet..."

"And we like having you here at night."

"Don't worry. I'll talk to my boss tomorrow then I'll spend all my nights with you. But now let's get moving before the kids think that we forgot about them."

* * *

"God, I love doing this," August said looking around him with a goofy grin after climbing out of the car.

Emma's head emerged from behind the other side of the car as she took Benji out of his seat and put him on the sidewalk, looking at the man questioningly. "What?" she asked.

"This," he indicated around them where children were running up and down after being let out of school. "Picking up the kids from school. It's nice."

"You're strange," Emma chuckled. August just shrugged then they started towards the entrance to look for their children.

"Daddy!" they could hear the excited scream of their daughter even before she would have emerged from the sea of kids.

"Hey there, Princess," August caught the little girl as she threw herself into his arms. The six-year-old clung to him and August grinned into her red locks.

If Benji and Billy were the spitting images of their mother – only Billy's eyes reminding him of the boy's biological father –, Franny was his mini self with Emma's green eyes. He wished her red locks wouldn't turn into brown like his did.

"Hey, Mommy," Franny turned to Emma when his father put her down. "Hey, Benji," she greeted her baby brother, too, when the little boy got hold of her hand and grinned up at her.

"Hey there, Pumpkin," Emma ruffled her hair and watched with a smile when the little girl scrunched up her nose in disdain. "Where's your brother?"

As an answer the adults got an exasperated sigh from the girl and exchanged an amused look because she just looked too adorable going all 'he's doing it again' regarding her older brother.

"They started reading _Alice in Wonderland_ at book club and he ran off to the library to get the book."

"_Alice in Wonderland_, that's a good story," August shared.

"I don't like it," Franny stated with conviction.

"And why is that?" her father asked.

"It's scary," was the simple answer.

"Look, there's Billy," Emma interrupted their conversation and looked relieved at the approaching figure of her son. She knew that going into details about the story would end ugly. Without even mentioning the fact that Franny bursts into tears every time she sees the huge caterpillar talking to Alice, her little girl had been afraid of white rabbits ever since she first watch the movie. Yep, not a good topic for conversation.

Emma herself wasn't too fond of that story. Something in the Mad Hatter just irked her and every time Billy made her watch the movie, her palms itched to punch some sense into that moron.

"I like Peter Pan," Benji shared. "Can I learn to fly?" he asked his mother.

"That's too dangerous," Emma answered. "And I don't want anything to happen to you," she smiled flipping his nose playfully with her index finger.

"But I want to fly," Benji insisted, his voice taking on a pitch that told Emma there would be tears coming soon if she didn't come up with a satisfying answer.

"I tell you what – when you get older, I'll take you flying. Say... we can fly to Florida," she offered. "That's a nice place."

"But old people not fly," Benji protested and Emma looked at August for help.

"Hey, buddy, mommy didn't say old, she said older. Big difference."

"Yeah," Franny agreed. "And you'll be a little boy for a long time," she played along with her parents.

"Hey, kid," August greeted Billy when he finally got to them. "We were just talking about…"

"… about going out for dinner tonight," Emma cut him off. It seemed that talking about tales was not a good idea.

"Really?" Billy and Benji asked in unison.

"Let's go to the beach and eat hot-dog," Franny offered at the same time.

"Well, I thought about something fancier…" August observed.

"Don't complain," Emma smirked, bumping her shoulder into his. "They're low cost children."

August shook his head with a bemused expression as he took in his children's excited look then sighed. "Hot-dog it is," he agreed finally, putting a hand on each of the older kids' shoulder and guiding them towards the car, picking up Franny's backpack and her violin case on the way.

The afternoon quickly turned into evening and soon Emma and August found themselves putting the kids into bed.

"What are you thinking of?" Emma sneaked an arm around his waist and joined him watching the kids sleep in the doorway to their room.

"About that boy with that stack of money," August replied still being far away in his thoughts.

"Who ran away from our first foster family?"

"Yeah," August finally turned his head to look at her over his shoulder. "I hope it worked out for him."

Emma nodded then tightened her hold on him just a little bit. "Did it work out for you…" she asked, pressing her cheek against his arm, "… staying?"

"Are you asking me whether I regret staying?" August looked at his wife with an incredulous look. Emma shrugged sheepishly.

She knew the answer.

Did he regret all those years spent in the system being tossed from one family to another? Did he regret all the harsh words and beatings he got after he'd been caught sneaking back into the house after spending time with Emma who'd always been with another family? Seeing her mingling with the wrong crowd and sinking lower and lower and not being able to do anything against it but taking her late-night calls and picking her up wherever she happened to get wasted? Seeing her heart break when Billy's father left her, all the while realizing that his feelings had changed for the free-spirited young girl he'd once hold in his arms as a baby?

Did he regret being the one who picked up the pieces after Emma's world turned upside down? Or taking up all the responsibility of a man and a father when he could have had a free, carefree life where his priority was himself and not a woman and three kids?

No, he didn't regret a single thing. Not even the hard times because those were the moments that had shaped him into the man he was today.

"I love you," he told her finally and he could feel Emma smile into his back.

"Love you, too," she murmured before letting go of him. "But before we get too mushy, let's go to sleep. I'm beat," she smiled.

"I hear you," August agreed chuckling as he turned and guided Emma towards their room. "I've spent half the day asleep but the kids managed to drain me under an hour."

That night August went to bed with that thought that life was good and he'd never change a thing about it for anything.

Exactly at midnight, though, when searing pain shot through his leg, he had to realize that change was inevitable. He was reminded then that he'd come to this world with a task – a task he had only partly achieved.

It was time to correct his negligence or pay the price for it.

**TBC**

_Thanks for reading!_


	2. The 28th

**Boston**

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything._

_Thank you so much for the reviews. I really appreciate them. Here is the next chapter that was planned to be the last one but, well, I got carried away with this whole family stuff and it's not the last one after all._

_Enjoy!_

Chapter 2: The 28th

After the pain in his leg had woken him up, August couldn't go back to sleep. There were so many thoughts whirling in his head that he was forced out of bed way before their alarm would have gone off. As he padded to the kitchen, he frowned at just how miserable he felt.

It was Emma's birthday and while it had always reminded him of that dark day when the curse had hit the Enchanted Forest and snatched them away from their home and their family, in the last decade it had come to mean something else. While he had always made sure that Emma felt special on that day, ever since their relationship changed, he had made special efforts to express just how grateful he was for her and for everything she'd given him.

He loved her so much. So much as to be willing to forget about his duties to make the Princess believe in her destiny.

And it was a grave mistake.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by some gentle tapping coming from the kids' room and, true enough, when he poked his head out of the kitchen, he saw his children making their way to their parents' room. They were a sight to behold as they tiptoed their way to the other door in a row and August couldn't help but chuckle when Benji bumped into Franny when she and Billy stopped by their destination. Franny yelped surprised that was quickly followed by Benji's scream and Billy turned back to his siblings with clear disapproval in his eyes.

"What are you doing?" he inquired in an amused voice, leaning against the frame of the kitchen door. The kids' heads simultaneously snapped in his direction and while Billy and Franny gave him a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look, Benji happily trotted to him to greet his father.

August picked the toddler up and took a couple of steps closer to the other two children.

"So?" he waited for an answer, even though he had a good idea what the kids were doing up bright and early on a school day when usually it took serious effort on the parents' part to kick them out of bed in time.

"We maked present for Mommy," Benji supplied happily.

"Yes," Billy agreed with a defeated sigh. "And we planned on surprising her," he pointed out. August smiled sympathetically at Franny and Billy. He knew, too, that there was no way that after that commission in front of the door, Emma was still asleep.

"Tell you what?" he put Benji down. "I'll go and grab mommy's coffee then we can go and surprise her together. But you have to stay really quiet for that," he said looking at the toddler. "We don't want to wake her, do we?"

All the kids nodded in unison, even the older ones forgetting about their worry about Emma being awakened.

"Good," August nodded then stepped back into the kitchen then quickly reappeared with a mug in his hand. Benji, not being one for staying in one place for too long, having run after him, rejoined his siblings on his father's side.

"Let's go," August nodded towards the door and Billy opened it carefully.

The man had to smile when they stepped into the room. Emma was lying under the covers with her back to them and for all intends and purposes she seemed asleep. The kids exchanged an excited and happy smile at finding their mom still asleep but August knew better – Emma was up all right. For the kids' benefit, he made a dramatic movement to indicate that they should stay quiet and with exaggerated movements, he began to tiptoe towards the bed with the kids following suit.

With bated breath, the kids waited for a second then grinned when, after looking at their father, waiting for his permission, August nodded and let the kids surprise attack their mother.

The next couple of minutes was a mixture of squeals, giggles, happy cries and contended laughter which finally died away as the kids settle down on their parents' bed with Billy and Franny on either side of Emma and August sitting with Benji in his lap.

"Happy birthday," sharing a short kiss above the head of their daughter, August told Emma after the kids had their share of birthday wishes.

"Well, let's see what this is," Emma said excitedly, indicating the folded paper that had been trusted into her hand earlier.

"We maked it," Benji shared happily that was followed by a couple of proud nods from Billy and Franny while August tried to correct his son's faulty grammar.

"Aww," Emma cooed upon opening that piece of paper and finding a drawing on it. "That's wonderful. Thank you," she looked at each of her children.

"Do you like my horse?" Billy asked.

"Yes," Emma answered while looking back at the picture, trying to guess which mess of lines could be the horse Billy was referring to. When she failed to identify it, she looked at August, who just shrugged with a humorous smile.

"And my ship?" Benji inquired, too.

"That's quite a masterpiece, too," Emma smiled at her son. Well, the ship itself was recognizable only because it was placed over a blue mess, but otherwise it looked more like a whale with wings. "And I guess you're the one who drew this castle?" Emma stroked her daughter's hair. For a six-year-old that castle was a remarkable work. It seemed that unlike her siblings, Franny had a knack for representing things on paper.

Soon the alarm went off and as August reached for it to turn it off, Emma sighed.

"I hate to break up this party," she said, "but we've got to start the day."

With a little pouting, the family got moving and while Billy and Franny got dressed, Emma went to get Benji into some clothes, too, and August made breakfast. During breakfast, the adults took turns to prepare for work, too, then they finished their morning meal together.

Billy was talking about their upcoming trip the next day when August looked at his watch and realized that he was running late.

"All right," August spoke up, standing up and lifting Benji out of his seat. "Off we go," he said then kissed Emma on his way to the front door where he put a jacket on Benji and grabbed his before throwing a _Love you, guys_, behind him that was echoed by Benji, too, then they left.

Benji's daycare was on the way to the little second-hand bookstore where August was working so when he didn't have a day off, he was the one dropping off the three-year-old for the day while Emma drove Franny and Billy to school before going to the teenage shelter where she worked as a counselor.

After opening the shop, his day went slowly with his thoughts always returning to one subject: Emma.

His heart ached at the thought that what they had in this life wasn't meant to be in their real life.

He was never meant to get into the wardrobe with her, he was never meant to spend his life with her… to fall in love with her. And most certainly he was never meant to marry her.

He couldn't help wondering whether breaking the curse would mean losing her.

But he also knew that this couldn't hold him back any longer – he couldn't keep being selfish because it wasn't just him who needed her, there was a whole town in northern Maine (yes, he had managed to find them) that needed her. It was time to be true to his word and bring the Savior back to her people. He just had to find the courage to do so.

When the day finally ended and he closed up shop, he walked home, picking up a small cake on the way.

Despite his troubled mood, he had to smile when he entered the apartment and was greeted by the happy chatter of his kids. Apparently they were all too excited about their trip whose destination was Swan Island in Maine. Benji was quite fascinated by the fact that the island was called like his mom and his fascination proved to be contagious as August could make it out, Franny and Billy were in the middle of persuading their mother to make a detour in their trip and visit Boothbay, too.

"Hey," August stepped into the living room with a happy grin, suddenly his uncomfortable thoughts forgotten, "did I hear Boothbay? Cool. I'd like to see it." The kids seemed excited by the prospect but Emma didn't look impressed from her position in the armchair.

"We didn't have a month to tour around Maine," she pointed out as August placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"Come on, Emma," August chuckled looking at the map spread over the coffee table, "it's what, another thirty miles or so?"

"Yeah," Emma agreed. "That thirty miles that would make you wish we stayed at home because the kids will be so antsy by then that you won't be able to stay in one car with them."

"Point taken," August nodded.

"And it's really just a detour, too," Emma added. "Not much point in taking it when we can spend our time somewhere we can actually see something."

"But can I see the wild turkeys?" Benji asked hopefully, jumping up from his kneeling position next to the coffee table where he'd been studying a map with his siblings. "I want to see the wild turkeys."

"You will, buddy," August hoisted him up and sat down on the couch with Benji in his lap then tousled his hair laughing. "You will."

"What's that?" Billy asked, indicating the little package his father had put on the coffee table.

"Cake!" Franny exclaimed, looking at her father excitedly.

At that, Billy quickly discarded the tourist guide book he'd been studying and ran into the kitchen to grab some plates and forks.

"You shouldn't have," Emma smiled at her husband.

"Are you kidding?" August looked at her. "See the look on the kids' faces?"

"I see," Emma nodded. "Thank you anyway." As an answer August jut smiled at her while Benji squirmed out of his arms when Franny began unwrapping the cake.

"Daddy, we don't have candles," Franny pointed out.

"Oh, we do have," August answered, "but you see, this is a little cake and there are a lot of candles," ha gave a cheeky grin to Emma, who just rolled her eyes.

"Cut it, Booth," she warned him but her stern look morphed into a smile when Benji offered that they should get a bigger cake to be able to place those many candles on them. August had a hard time containing his laughter.

They finally put a single candle on the cake and Emma let Benji have her birthday wish as they together blew it out.

The rest of the day went by quickly as the family prepared for their trip and finally it was time for bed for the kids, who'd been in such high spirit that Emma and August had a really hard time putting them into bed.

When Emma returned from tucking the kids in, August was standing in the kitchen finishing up doing the dishes.

"Now I'm ready to open my present," Emma said in a seductive tone as she sneaked her arms around her husband's waist.

"I think you've already opened everything," August teased, drying his hands in a kitchen-towel.

"Oh, I definitely don't think so," Emma smiled as her hands ventured under the hem of his shirt. August laughed out and turned to take his wife into his arms.

"You don't, huh?" he kissed her, both smiling into the kiss. "Well… maybe there is something here for you," he told her, gently guiding her out of the kitchen without letting her go.

He managed to back her into their room where they began fiddling with the other's clothes. It was his shirt that first found its way to the floor, leaving him in a white tee, and Emma, too, soon found herself only in her bra on top. August was just about to lay Emma on the bed when the pain from last night shot through his leg, making him lose balance and fall on Emma.

"August?" Emma asked concerned when the man rolled off of her with a painful grimace, holding onto his aching leg. "What happened? Are you all right?"

"Just give me a second," he hissed through his pain, shutting his eyes. After a couple of seconds – that seemed more like agonizingly long minutes – August opened his eyes and looked at Emma. "I'm sorry," he croaked.

"It must have been one hell of a cramp," Emma observed, running a hand over his leg. August only nodded. "Is it better?"

Again August nodded wordlessly and Emma smiled at him, leaning down to kiss him. August returned the kiss but when Emma's hand began to wander over his leg and to more sensitive part, he gently took it, and looked at her with a sad expression.

"We have to talk," he told her in a solemn tone.

"Are you serious?" Emma looked down at him with a forced chuckle, sensing that something was seriously not right. "I'm here half naked and you want to talk? What's wrong?" she asked and when it took quite a long time for the man to answer, she got worried. "Are you sick?" her voice hitched with fear as she sat up. "August, please," she pleaded when no answer came. "Please," she repeated, cupping his cheek. "Tell me you're not ill."

Slowly, August sat up, too, and took her hand into his and kissed it before cradling it safe between his palms. "No, I'm not ill," he answered with a small, sad smile then, after Emma let out a relieved sigh, he added, "I began turning back to wood."

The first thing he noticed after that was the loss of her hand between his as she almost immediately withdrew it. Then he noticed how the lines on her face that had been formed by worry turned into a disbelieving grimace as she slowly processed what he had said.

She was shocked, he knew. They'd had many a quarrel about his belief ever since Emma turned into an opinionated teen and for a while August took whatever she threw at him and he stubbornly kept repeating his story – their story – over and over again.

That was until Emma met Neal Cassady. It happened after a really intense fight between the two of them that Emma disappeared for months. When he finally managed to find her, she was caught up in a life of petty thievery and living in a car with a man who should have known better. He was just in time to save Emma from crossing a point from where there couldn't have been any turning back. He saved her from prison and sent that Neal guy away.

Then Billy was born. From that day on the world they'd left behind so long ago began to fade into a faint memory – just a story he used to love to tell. Slowly Emma got over Neal and she realized the true dimensions of August's feelings, what's more, she found herself reciprocating them. Free from the system, they began a new life together… as a family. It was hard providing for a baby – then three, and both he and Emma did their best to build a secure life. And that life was no fairy-tale.

He didn't even really realize that he had stopped thinking about that part of his life. He'd got a task when he came into this world: take care of Emma and make her believe. He took care of Emma but slowly he himself stopped believing.

He had a life in this new world and with that life, came new responsibilities: he had a family he had to look after.

Seeing the look in his wife's eyes, everything came back to him: the endless quarrels, the harsh words and cold looks, the feeling of failure.

"You can't be serious," her voice was suddenly cold.

"Emma, please…" August started, trying to reach out for her hand but she pulled it back. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry but we can't keep ignoring the truth."

"What truth?" she snapped as she reached for her discarded top to put it back on.

"You know what I'm talking about," August tried to maintain a calm voice.

"You are insane." Emma didn't even try. She was furious.

"Maybe…" August reached for his tee, too, then stood up to be at the same level as Emma. He gave her look that tried to convince her, "but it doesn't change the fact that everything I told you is real. They need you, Emma – you're their only hope… our only hope," he finished and watched as tears began to flow down Emma's cheek.

She shook her head sadly. "You need help", she said slowly and there was so much loss in her voice that August found it hard to keep it together.

"Yes. I need your help. Emma, for God's sakes, I'm turning back to wood."

"Stop it!" she snapped. "Just stop it." She backed away raising her arms in front of her defensively as if keeping August away from her would keep all the insanity away, too.

"Emma…"

"No, I don't want to hear it. Oh, my God," she turned away, running a hand through her hair in frustration. She couldn't even make sense of her feelings right now. She was pissed, scared and utterly confused. She thought they'd put all this craziness behind them years ago.

August could see how Emma was struggling and almost automatically, he stepped to her and tentatively put his hands on her shoulders, waiting for her to pull away again. When she didn't, he gently squeezed her shoulders and pressed his cheek into her disheveled locks.

"Once you asked me to stop talking about fairy-tales and magic," he began in a whisper and could feel Emma tense under his hands. "And I did, Emma. I've never brought it up again. And though I couldn't forget about it, I was just too willing to ignore it. We are who we are, Emma, and nobody can change that. Especially not me… no matter how hard I want it because it causes you so much pain. I just can't. And we can't ignore it, either because, believe me, it will cause you pain, too." Here his hold tightened on her in fear of what the future might hold for her if he failed to make her believe again. "I love you," he said and pressed a kiss into her hair. "And I'd never do anything to hurt you."

"Than why did you bring up all this crazy crap again?" she croaked, turning in his arms.

"Because," August began running his thumps over her red and tear-stained cheeks, "I have no other choice. If you are not ready to accept all those things I've told you, consider this –" here August stopped for a heartbeat, finding it really hard to face the truth, "I'm dying. I've failed to make you believe in magic… and in who you are. And now I have to pay the price for that. And I'm so afraid, Emma… I'm so afraid because if I'm not here anymo…"

He couldn't finish his thought because Emma fell into his arms sobbing.

He held her while she wept, hoping that he'd got to her and, after getting over the emotional turmoil she'd been experiencing, she'd be ready to give him a chance to help her find her true path.

After a while, Emma's sobs subsided and August became aware of her fumbling fingers as she tried to undo his belt all the while raising on her tiptoes to claim his lips.

"What are you doing?" he asked, when he managed to pull away from her insistent mouth, in a voice that was a strange mix of arousal and genuine confusion. She'd just called him a nutcase a few minutes before and he was sure that she'd been ready to kick him out.

"I'm doing what I expected you to do on my birthday."

"Emma," he made a half-hearted attempt to stop her. "We should talk about it…"

"I don't want any more talking," she hushed him. "I was preparing for a night of lovemaking so shut up and get to it."

And for the moment August proved to be too weak to protest – and he was aware of that. So instead of trying to do something he was constantly failing at, he did what he knew how to do – he showed Emma just how much he loved her.

**TBC**

_Thanks for reading!_


	3. Destiny Delayed

**Boston**

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything._

_So this is the last chapter. I'm planning on making two sequels to this one of which is "Neverland" that I had already started writing and, if anything goes as planned, there will be another one that tells what happened to Franny and how the family is reunited after twenty-nine years._

_Enjoy!_

Chapter 3: Destiny Delayed

As the next morning was quite chaotic, August didn't have a chance to broach the subject of their conversation from the previous night. However, he could feel the nervous vibes coming off of Emma without her saying a word.

Despite the looks she gave him while they were maneuvering around each other to pack everything, feed everybody and get ready, and, really, despite every gesture of hers towards him that said volumes about her feelings, August could feel that Emma was doing her damnest to pretend that everything was all right – for whose sake, though, he couldn't tell.

Despite her anger, she seemed to be ready to forget that he had ever brought up the subject of their presumed origin.

Finally they closed the door behind them and herded the kids to the car to get in. When they were all in, the adults went to get in, too, and get going.

"You drive," August threw the keys to Emma, who gave him a questioning look. "You don't want to end up in a ditch when my leg decides to cramp," he explained, referring to the fact that his leg cramped in the morning, too, and only God could tell when it'd come back.

"You should go see a doctor," Emma raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, yeah," August dismissed her, biting back a remark that a doctor wouldn't be able to do anything about it. "First, I'm taking you on a vacation."

And with that they were on the road.

Considering the circumstances, the day went really well. It seemed that Emma was in deed ready to forget about their argument the day before and not long after they had set out, she began to act as if nothing had happened… and August let it go as well, even when his leg started to cramp a couple of times during the day.

He just smiled when Emma threw him a worried look and pretended that everything was all right.

Like his wife, he just wanted everything to be all right.

During the car-ride, the kids were waiting excitedly for the moment when they crossed state-lines, first to New Hampshire then to Maine, and squealed delightedly when they finally rolled into Maine. August couldn't keep the grin off of his face and when he turned to look at Emma, he could see that she was smiling, too.

"Happy birthday," he whispered, squeezing her thigh and for the first time that day, he felt at ease as Emma smiled back at him.

In Richmond they left the car by the ferry that took them over to Swan Island. They planned on spending a relaxing they in the great outdoors by fishing and strolling and spying on the island's wild life. As for the last part, August was grateful that nobody witnessed when Benji, no doubt, caused lasting damage in a wild turkey's mental health when the boy started chasing the bird while crowing like an insane cock all the while clapping his arms as if trying to fly.

August couldn't really decide who was more frightened – the turkey or Emma.

They finally settled down by the river where they had their lunch then killed time by fishing, playing or doing nothing at all.

All in all, it was really pleasant.

"Do mermaids live in this lake, mommy?" Benji asked as he was kicking pebbles into the water, no doubt, making his father and brother's attempt to fish quite impossible.

"Maybe you should check," Billy appeared behind him and made a movement as if he was about to push the little boy into the river.

Benji screamed and, while August chuckled from behind his fishing rod, Emma looked horrified.

"Billy," she called to her oldest child. "Don't scare your brother… and me," she told him in a stern voice. "The last thing I need is to fish you out of the water."

"Sorry, mom," the boy said as he went back to his rod and sat down. Emma cocked an eyebrow as if signalling that she wasn't really satisfied with his apology and Billy sighed exasperatedly. "Sorry, Benji," he mumbled finally. This seemed to satisfy Emma, who leant back in her chair and continued enjoying the early autumn sun.

"Maybe you should look it," Benji ran up to Billy and offered him in an excited voice. "The mermaids, Billy."

"There are no mermaids here," Billy rolled her eyes.

"No?" For a moment Benji looked genuinely taken aback. "Where mermaids live?"

"In Fairy-Tale Land," looking up from her sketch-book, Franny supplied at which both of her parents snapped up their heads. "Daddy says they live there. And giants and ogres and princes and princesses."

"Neverland is there, too?" Benji inquired, momentarily forgetting about the mermaids. "I want to go to Neverland and learn to fly and crow."

"Like you crowed to that turkey earlier," Billy laughed at his younger brother, unaware of the tension that beginning to fill the air. Benji pouted a little but then happily started crowing.

"Daddy?" Franny turned to her father while Benji did a great job at frightening all the fish that hadn't been chased away yet by the pebbles. "Are there princesses who are heroes?"

"Of course, there are," August gave her daughter a smile then looked at Emma when he could hear her scoff.

"Who?"

"Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty… Snow White," Billy supplied.

Franny scrunched up her nose in dislike. "No. They aren't no heroes."

Despite Emma's complete aversion to the topic at hand, she found herself chuckling at her daughter's observation.

"And why not?" August challenged, encouraged by Emma's chuckle.

"They don't have a sword," Franny pointed out.

"You don't need a sword to be a hero," Billy protested then jumped up and started chasing his little brother, who was still running around crowing.

"Then how do you kill the dragon, you silly?" she called after Billy. "Or the giant?"

"It's not always killing the enemy that makes a hero," this time it was August who spoke up. "Think about Cinderella. Patience and endurance can be heroic virtues, too. And if you let yourself think outside the box," he continued, pulling Benji into his lap when the boys joined them, "you'll find that Snow White would be a real kick-ass given a chance to prove it. You know the story never ends with the 'and they lived happily after'. There is a whole life to live after true love's kiss. A whole lot of adventures and challenges for princesses to prove what…"

"For God's sake, August, do you hear yourself?" Emma snapped angrily when the all too familiar story was addressed to her children. They may have called an unspoken truce in their quarrel about fairy-tales but Emma certainly didn't want August to fill the heads of the kids with his nonsense. "Snow White is not a fierce Amazon and she is certainly no hero. She's just a gullible girl who trusts every tramp that happens to knock at her door. And Cinderella?" she scoffed. "She's not even a princess for God's sake. Her tale only teaches little girls to swallow their tongues and take every shit thrown into their way because everything will turn out all right at the end without them actually doing something for it. Bullshit. Just like Sleeping Beauty. Maybe that's the best of them all. A girl sleeping for a hundred years and a prince who isn't even looking for her. He's in the right place at the right time… some heroic deed is that! These are your fairy-tales in your fairy-tale land," she snarled at August. "And Neverland with that punk? It was invented for men who think that they can stay children forever. For men who are too afraid to face reality," she looked at August accusingly.

"Emma!" August warned her. "The kids."

"What? They'll realize all this one day – they won't stay kids forever. They have to grow up. And it's better to face the truth now than keep denying it," she gave him a pointed look and August hold her gaze until they could both hear Benji starting to cry.

"I don't want to grow up," he whimpered as his tears began to fall.

His small voice seemed to have snapped Emma out of it as she ran her eyes over her children with a horrified look. What had she done? She asked herself as she took in Billy and Franny's stunned and scared expression and Benji's tearful one.

Some mother she was, she thought as she abruptly stood up and left.

"That's all right," August said equally stunned as he kissed Benji's head before putting him down next to Franny. "Mommy didn't mean any of it. She is just too tired. I'll go and talk to her, all right?" The kids nodded. "Billy, look after the others. We'll be back soon." And with that he left.

"Emma," August walked up to Emma not so far away. Actually, they could see the kids through the thinning foliage of the bushes.

"How is he?" she asked obviously shaken up by what had just happened.

"He'll get over it," August said with a slight disapproval in his voice. "He's only three. His life is about tales and adventures."

"I know," Emma nodded. She really did know. And she'd never been against it. "I'm just afraid."

"Of what?"

"That it'll stay that way like it did with…" she stopped, looking up at him. "I'm so scared of losing you," she admitted finally.

There was such genuine fear in her voice that the words died in August's throat and he just stood there wordless. He wanted to say that she should just believe and everything would be all right but he had a feeling that he'd just make things worse.

"You won't lose me, Emma," he finally said pulling her into his arms. "I won't let that happen," he continued as he held her tight.

"Ready to go back?" he asked finally and Emma nodded, pulling away.

"Poor kids," she said, "I must have scared them for life."

"Yeah," August agreed with a humorous chuckle. "I bet they're currently burning the story books they brought with themselves and swearing to only read the Russian realists from now on."

"Very funny," Emma huffed with a little, reluctant smile.

"Come on, Emma," August pulled her close as they started back to the kids, "They were probably more scared of your tone than of what you actually said."

"I feel so bad about it."

"Don't," August told her, kissing her temple then he gently nudged her forward. "Go, talk to them."

"Come here, honey," Emma called to Benji with a small, guilty smile when she and August emerged from the woods. The boy ran to her and she scooped her up then went to sit down with him next to Billy by the lake and motioned for Franny to join them.

"I'm sorry for speaking the way I did," she started. "Unfortunately one day you have to grow up like every child but that day is far, far away… and I'm happy for that," she said kissing Benji's head. "And until that day, I want you to search for mermaids and fight like heroes."

"And I can fly, too?" Benji asked excitedly.

"Of course, you can," August agreed, lifting Benji out of Emma's lap and up into the air. "Look there," he looked at the others, "how's Benji flying!"

"Me too! Me too!" Franny jumped up, too, demanding that her dad make her fly, too.

It was quite late by the time the family returned to the car to set out for Bangor, where they'd spend the next two days, so it wasn't long before darkness fell on them.

It was so good to hear the kids laughing and chatting whole day but Emma welcomed the silence that settled on the car not long after they'd set on the road.

"I can't believe it," she hissed, after about an hour of driving in silence, as she stopped by a road sign that read _Welcome to Storybrooke_. She'd heard about that place. That was the place August kept mentioning when he was in the middle of his insane babblings about magic and fairy-tales. _Bastard_, she thought as she stepped out of the car and stopped in front of it.

August, who'd just woken up from his slumber, blinked a couple of time and frowned when the town sign came into focus. How an Earth did they end up there?

"What happened?" Billy asked confused, he himself blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

"It's all right," he turned back to the children. "She just needs some air… you know, not to fall asleep."

"Can we get out, too?" Franny asked.

"Wait a second, okay? I'll go and ask for how long she wants to stop." With that he stepped out of the car and walked up to Emma, who was walking up and down in front of the car.

"Emma…"

"Fuck off!" Emma cried frustrated and pissed off big time. It seemed that now she'd really reached her boiling point.

"All right," August sighed, he himself getting fed up with Emma's mood swings. "Would you calm down, please? The kids are getting worried… again."

"Really nice, Booth, really nice. Let's make me the crazy parent."

"I didn't mean that," August sighed defeated. "I'd just like you to stop these outbursts."

"You want me to stop… then tell me what the fucking hell we're doing here… in Storybrooke. Because that's your Stroybrooke, right?"

"Yes. And believe me I have no idea how we ended up here," he shook his head. "But if you ask me, this may be a sign that you are meant to be here." Emma gave him an unimpressed look, throwing daggers at him. But this time August wasn't willing to back down. "Emma, you like it or not, this is where you belong… where we all belong."

"A sign, my ass," Emma scoffed. "You knew damn well that we'd end up here."

"Are you kidding me?" August looked at her bewildered. Did she really think that he'd do that? "Have you even read the road signs while driving? You were supposed to follow the Interstate. That would have taken us to Bangor. That's obviously not the Interstate. Storybrooke is nowhere near the interstate. Not as if any map would show that," he muttered the last part.

"What's your fucking point?"

"My point? My point is that there was no way that we'd go through this town. I made sure of that… But apparently you can't avoid destiny."

"Destiny? How is it for destiny? You don't give up this shit and you'll sure as hell end up seeing me pack up the kids and leave. This is insane, August," she added the last part with a defeated sigh, having lost her momentum.

How the hell had they gotten to this point?

The worst part was that August knew that she wasn't making empty threats. She had left once because of his insistence on their origin. August had let the subject go then because he'd rather have Emma with him than losing her for something most of the time he himself had questioned. But there were no questions this time… and he was torn between two evils.

"Insane?" he shot back steeling himself for a fight he wished he hadn't had to fight. "You know what's insane? You not even considering believing me. I thought you know me better than that. After everything that we've been through, you still can't trust anyone… you don't trust me."

"Don't do this. This is not about trusting you."

"Really? You flat out refuse to believe me. What do you call that?"

"Realism," Emma answered. "What you are proposing is insane."

"Why? Why is it so difficult for you to believe?"

"Because fairy-tales are not true," Emma screamed frustrated. "Magic doesn't exi… Franny!" she trailed off and called after her daughter when she noticed that she had left the car. "Franny!" she called again when the girl didn't stop and started to go after her.

"No," August stopped her, staring into the darkness of the forest where something started glow.

"What the hell is that?" Emma asked.

"What you don't believe in – magic," August answered already on his way after his daughter. "You stay with the boys." And with that he disappeared into the darkness.

Emma walked up to the car looking worriedly into the direction her daughter and husband had disappeared and watched with concern as the purple light grew at an alarming speed.

"What's happening?" Billy asked, rolling down the window and looking out at her mother while Benji kept on sleeping peacefully.

"Nothing," Emma gave the boys a reassuring smile. "There must be some campers out there," she explained as the purple light lit up the woods.

The last thing Emma saw was Billy's worried look and Benji's peaceful expression then everything went black.

* * *

After the purple light had died away, the forest was covered in darkness once again… but it wasn't the same forest. It was a forest from twenty-eight years ago when no Storybrooke had existed… yet.

And there were nobody around.

And when the sun came up, sometime during the day, a little further down the road a boy with red curls had magically appeared followed, not long after that, by a newborn baby wrapped up in a white baby-blanket with _Emma_ embroidered on the edge.

As the boy held the baby girl in his arms, looking around in his strange surrounding, he didn't know that he wouldn't be the protector of that child for long… he didn't know that both of them were sentenced to a life of hardship and loneliness…

Their path would lead them into different directions and they were not to cross again until twenty-eight years had passed.

**The End**

_Thanks for reading!_


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